Last month, Inside Alabama Politics (IAP), part of Alabama Daily News, reported that then-lame-duck U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) attempted to "barter" his vote on a March 2024 "minibus" appropriations bill with U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) for help on a potential political appointment.
According to the report, at the time, there was speculation that U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) would vacate his seat to take a position in the incoming Trump administration. The IAP story, published on November 18, alleged Carl proposed a trade — his vote on the minibus bill for help from Britt on a possible appointment from Gov. Kay Ivey if the Tuberville seat should become available.
"That was apparently a bridge too far for Britt," IAP said. "Taking offense to such an overture, Britt severed the relationship and waited in the tall Wiregrass until this year when Carl reemerged as a candidate for AL-1."
Tuberville ultimately opted to remain in the U.S. Senate.
Carl, now a candidate for his former U.S. House seat, having lost it to Barry Moore in the 2024 GOP primary, is facing Britt-backed State Rep. Rhett Marques (R-Enterprise) in next year's Republican primary.
During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show" on Tuesday, Carl criticized the reporting, calling it "just pure lying."
"You know, the only thing I want to respond is this — that was an article written based on anonymous sources, and it was re-quoted by someone that has not bothered to check. I assume they haven't checked with Katie's folks, that I've not heard a word from anybody to ask if it's true or not. You're the first one to ever ask me a question. And I really would like to leave it at that, because when I win, I need to be in a situation where I can work with Katie. And I still think the world of Katie, and I'm still one of her biggest fans. So, I want to leave it at that, but anonymous sources and no one is this, is this truly journalism these days? Is this where it goes? You just get an anonymous source to tell you a story, and you write a story around it. I just found that very, very confusing.
"[N]o one asked me if it's true or not," he continued. "The people that wrote it. I didn't even read the story. You know, I've had a couple of conversations. Most people don't even know what we're talking about, probably. But, you know, I find it very confusing how in the state of Alabama, you can manipulate the press. I've never been on that side of it. I'm on the manipulation side now, and I can see it. I mean, you've got ownership in some of these press groups that are tied to the machine. You've got the machine that could buy — I didn't realize you could pay people to write stories, put it behind a paywall like this. Someone paid for that article to be written, I understand. So I can just have an article written and put it behind a paywall, and someone can pull it up and say, 'Oh my gosh, he's a horrible person.' And no one bothered to ask anybody about it. That's not journalism, Jeff. That's just true. That's just pure lying. That's just lies."
Jeff Poor is the editor-in-chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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